1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to an improved carton for packaging single servings of pie, and more specifically to a carton of this type which is attractive in appearance and provides adequate protection for its contents.
2. Description Of Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,131 and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 29,185, disclose triangularly-shaped cartons useful for packaging triangularly-shaped food products, such as slices of pizza. The cartons are adapted to hold the product during storage and heating. Heating by microwave oven is facilitated by openings which permitted circulation of air through the carton during the heating process, but which could be sealed prior to use. The openings are preferably made in the bottom panel and in the adjoining end wall panel, and are normally covered by a removable strip of film to protect the product from contamination during storage. These disclosures do not, however, identify structural design features necessary to accommodate a single-serving slice of pie of the dessert-type which typically has a thin outer shell of a baked pastry crust and contains a filling of fruit or the like.
Dessert-type pies must be carefully protected from breakage, as well as drying out and contamination. Pies of this type are typically cut into single, wedge-shaped portions. The apex of this wedge is particularly fragile and is easily breakable. Similarly, the area of crust which extends around the base of the wedge and at the juncture of the top and rear of the wedge is also easily broken. While the prior art had developed wedge-shaped cartons, there was no known paperboard carton adapted to package a dessert-type pie in single-serving, wedge-shaped portions and afford a degree of protection to the pie satisfactory for normal abuse during shipping and handling. Dessert-type pies need special protection if they are to survive shipment and handling so that they remain attractive in appearance when finally served.
Accordingly, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,542, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, an improved carton for use in containing a wedge-shaped piece of pie and a blank for forming a carton of this type is disclosed. The carton comprises: a triangular bottom panel havng a base edge and converging side edges; a trapezoidal end wall hingedly connected to the base edge of said bottom panel and extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom to a top edge, wherein the top edge is longer than said base edge; a triangular top panel hingedly connected to said end wall along said top edge, said top panel being substantially identical in shape to said bottom panel but longer from the apex to said top edge than the distance from the apex to said base edge of said bottom panel, and extending parallel to said bottom panel; inner side wall panels secured to the converging edges of said bottom panel and extending upwardly therefrom; outer side wall panels secured to the converging edges of said top panel and extending downwardly therefrom and outwardly of said inner side wall panels; corner flaps connecting the converging ends of said inner side walls and connecting the ends of said end wall to said inner side walls; and means securing said inner and outer side wall panels in face contact.
When the carton is erected, the slanted end wall aids in precluding undue contact of the fragile pie crust with the carton, but the sharp corners at the juncture of the end wall and top panel and top panel and side wall panels tend to erode and break the crust upon contact therewith during shipment and handling of the carton.